Starts 9th Year off Right
COSTA RICA, Playa Herradura (February 7, 2012) – The first leg of the 9th Annual Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series, jointly sponsored by International Special Risk Insurance, Smith Merritt Insurance and Traveler’s, was held January 25‐28 out of Los Sueños Resort and Marina. The tournament ended with a remarkable catch and release by the 37 participating boats and 171 anglers of 624 billfish, including 11 marlin and 613 sailfish. With sailfish worth 100 points each and marlin worth 500 points, the teams scrambled to find the marlin and make each bite count.
DAY 1
Lines in was called at 8 am on the first day of fishing. It was Crush’em that called in the first release of the tournament at 8:10 am. Bandolera followed with a release at 8:11 am. By 10 am there were 41 sailfish releases. It was Bandolera who released the first and only marlin of the day just before 11 am. By noon Bandolera has secured first place with 1000 points after releasing 5 sails and 1 marlin. Crush’em was in second with 700 points. At the end of Day 1, not much had changed on the leaderboard as Bandolera ended the day at the top of the pack with 1500 points, Crush’em placed second on time with 1200 points, followed by Reel Screamer in third, also with 1200 points. A total of 211 billfish were released, of which 210 were sails and 1 marlin.
DAY 2
Day 2 started off with a lot of excitement when Rum Runner called in a marlin hook up just six minutes after lines in. In under half an hour two more marlin were caught and released, making participants and onlookers wonder if the bite was going to be a mix of sails and marlin. By 10:10 am, Predator had released the 35th fish of the day. By 10:25 am the two‐day fish count was up to 249 billfish. As of 11:45 am the count had risen to 277 billfish. By noon Tuna Bite had taken the lead with 2100 points, Southern Pride was moving up having taken second place with 1800 points on time, followed by Bandolera in third, also with 1800 points. By 2:30 pm there had been 333 billfish released, of which 7 were marlin, 6 caught on Day 2 alone. Things got hot between 2:33 pm and 2:35 pm when Southern Pride, Clean Sweep and Predator each released a single back to back, followed immediately by Muy Caliente with a double. At 3:30 pm Southern Pride released a marlin to put themselves in first place overall with 2800 points, where they would end the day 600 points ahead of Tuna Bite, who took second place for the day with 2200 points, followed by Crush’em in third with 2100 points. Together the participating anglers ended Day 2 with a two‐day total of 370 billfish, including 362 sails and 8 marlin.
DAY 3
By 10:11 am the next morning Sea Angel had released fish number 66 for the day and the top three boats seemed to be intent on keeping their positions on the leader board. Southern Pride in was in first with 3200 points, Bandolera in second with 3000 points and Crush’em in third with 2500 points. By noon Crush’em had earned an additional 400 points, with 4 sailfish releases and was moving up. It wasn’t until they released a double at 3:26 pm (their last fish of the tournament) that they managed to bounce ahead of Bandolera by 200 points. Bandolera fought back valiantly, releasing a sail at 3:32 pm, but in the end Crush’em finished with a mere 100 point lead ahead of Bandolera and placed second overall for the 3‐day tournament with 3700 points after releasing 37 sails. Bandolera finished in third with 3600 points after releasing 26 sails and 2 marlin. Southern Pride proudly took first with 4100 points, with an incredible 36 sailfish releases and 1 marlin, releasing their last sail at 4 pm, exactly at lines out. All told, the participating boats managed to release an incredible 624 billfish over the three days, including 613 sails and 11 marlin.
CASH PRIZES & AWARDS
For the first time since the beginning of the Series, the awards ceremony was held on the white sand in front of the Beach Club. The venue was ideal, with little white lights delineating the “ceiling” under a starlit sky, ocean front, with the Los Sueños Marina as the backdrop. As if the venue wasn’t enough, attendees were also treated to Brazilian samba dancers and an incredible fireworks show by FAISA that seemed endless. Tournament winners took to the stage to receive a total of $90,000 in cash and other prizes provided by tournament sponsors.
- 1st $45,000‐ Southern Pride: 4100 points, 36 sails, 1 marlin
- 2nd $27,000‐ Crush’em: 3700 points, 37 sails
- 3rd $18,000‐ Bandolera: 3600 points, 26 sails, 2 marlin
Trophies by Gray Taxidermy
Other prizes and awards by: Tunaskin‐ shirts and hats; Rick Bogert‐ framed prints of the tournament art; Vanmark, Inc.‐ gold pendants; Costa del Mar‐ sunglasses for winning anglers; Flor de Caña‐ aged Rum; and IK Yacht Design‐ Gift certificates for all winners.
TOP ANGLER
Incredibly, three people tied for first place among individual anglers, each releasing 16 sails for 1600 points, but it was Mark Woldinger of team Reel Screamer who won the coveted title of Top Angler for the first leg of the 2012 Series. Mark released his last sail at 3:16 pm, exactly 10 minutes before the runner up, John Siedzkowski of team Crush’em released his last sail, and 41 minutes before second runner up Ted Smith of the winning team Southern Pride released his last fish. The Top Angler received a framed print of Rick Bogert’s tournament art, a gift basket from Costa Rican Store, and an invitation to the WBS Grand Championship, to be held out of Los Sueños Resort in December 2012.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The entire tournament organizing committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who came together to support this event. Our gratitude goes out to all the anglers, captains, mates, observers, technical Silver Asset Management Corporation, c/o Corporate Office, Los Sueños Resort and Marina advisors, Los Sueños staff and of course, our sponsors (in alphabetical order): BLP Abogados, Caterpillar/ Gregory Poole, Costa del Mar, Costa Rica Dreams Sport Fishing, Costa Rica Luxury, Costa Rican Store, Dockwise, Durman, Flor de Caña, Gray Taxidermy, Inc., IGFA, IK Yacht Design, International Special Risks, Lewis Marine Group, Marriott, MTU/Tractomotriz, Purdy Motors/Toyota, Rick Bogert, Scotiabank, Smith Merritt Insurance, Stewart Title, Tom George Yacht Group, Traveler’s Insurance, Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel, Vanmark, Inc., Viking Yachts, WBS. For more on our sponsors, please visit www.LStournaments.com.
WBS SANCTIONED EVENT
The Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series presented by Viking Yachts is sanctioned by the World Billfish Series (WBS). Anglers competing in the Los Sueños tournaments are automatically enrolled in the WBS and compete for points in the Pacific Rim Division. The top angler from each leg of the Signature Series is presented with a plaque and invitation to the 2012 WBS Grand Championship, to be held in Los Sueños Resort and Marina in December 2012. For further information, please visit www.worldbillfishseries.com.
IGFA SANCTIONED EVENT
The top team from each leg of the Los Sueños Signature Series will be eligible to compete in the 2012 IGFA Grand Championship. For further information, please visit www.igfaoffshorechampionship.com.
ABOUT THE LOS SUENOS SIGNATURE BILLFISH SERIES
2012 marks the 9th Annual Los Sueños Signature Billfish Series. The Signature Series consists of two annual tournaments, one in January and the second in March each year, and is fished out of the world class Los Sueños Resort and Marina in Costa Rica. Entries for the second leg of the 2012 Signature Series, March 21‐24, are now being accepted via the official series website, www.LStournaments.com. The dates for the 2013 have been selected so mark your calendars. Leg I: January 16‐19 and Leg II: March 13‐16.
ABOUT LOS SUEÑOS RESORT AND MARINA
Los Sueños Resort and Marina is the premier luxury real estate resort in Costa Rica. Nestled on the Central Pacific Coast, Los Sueños is an 1,100‐acre oasis offering incredible ocean, rainforest and golf course view properties; a gorgeous waterfront Marina Village commercial area with restaurants, shops and lively entertainment; a large private beach club for residents; an 18‐hole championship golf course; a superb 201‐room Marriott Hotel; and much more ‐ all within close proximity to some of the world’s best sport fishing waters. Information on Los Sueños Resort and Marina is available online at www.lsrm.com.
1st Place
Boat Name: SOUTHERN PRIDE
Home Port: Panama City, FL
Make: Weaver
Model: 64
Year: 2010
Engines: Caterpillar
Captain: Chris Garner
Angler 1: Ted Smith
Angler 2: Gerard Aliseo
Angler 3: Russel Petrano
Mate 1: Minerva Garner
Mate 2: Fico
2nd Place
Boat Name: CRUSH’EM
Home Port: Delaware
Make: Ocean Yacht
Model: 48
Year: 1986
Engines: Cummins
Captain: Josh Ruskey
Angler 1: Chris Lepping
Angler 2: John Siedekowski
Angler 3: John Graff
Angler 4: Jimmy Fields
Mate 1: Erick Vallejo
Mate 2: Luis Gerardo Guevara
3rd Place
Boat Name: BANDOLERA
Home Port: Los Sueños, Costa Rica
Make: Spencer
Model: 66
Year: 2004
Engines: CAT
Captain: Ronnie Fields
Angler 1: Manuel Batlle
Angler 2: Luis Fernandez
Angler 3: Gray Ingram
Angler 4: Jimmy Fields
Mate 1: Ben Horning
Mate 2: Newt Cagle
Mate 3: Thomas Garmany
For further information, please contact Ashley Bretecher, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, Los Sueños Resort and Marina, Toll‐free: 1‐866‐865‐9759, Direct Tel: 011‐506‐2630‐4005, Fax: 011‐506‐2630‐4010, or e‐mail: a.bretecher@lsrm.com.